No sign of improvement for dairy farmers, says farming union

The fall in milk price has left many farmers desperately worried about the future of their businesses.
The fall in milk price has left many farmers desperately worried about the future of their businesses.

The Ulster Farmers Union is holding a dairy summit for the industry on Thursday 27 August at CAFRE, Greenmount.

The event, being opened by UFU president Ian Marshall, has been organised to address some of the serious difficulties facing farmers, and to look at the challenges that lie ahead as autumn/winter approaches.

“The fall in milk price has left many farmers desperately worried about the future of their businesses. With no sign of things improving we are bringing the industry together to help develop a strategy that will allow farmers to get through what is going to be a very difficult autumn/winter,” said UFU dairy chairman Jonathan Moore.

Agriculture minister, Michelle O’Neill, William Irwin, NI Assembly Agriculture and Rural Development Committee chairman, Robert McCullough, Dankse Bank; Owen Brennan, Northern Ireland Grain Trade Association, Trevor Lockhart, Dairy UK and Jonathan Moore, UFU dairy chairman will all be speaking at the event.

The event starts at 10.30am and is expected to finish at around 1.30pm. There will be no registration and both UFU members and non-members are invited to attend.

“We are very aware of how difficult things are at present and this event has been organised to not only provide dairy farmers with an opportunity to channel their frustrations but also allow the panel of speakers to take on board farmers’ concerns,” said Mr Moore. The panel will also provide practical advice on what might be done now to help farmers manage this difficult period.

Ulster Farmers’ Union president Ian Marshall has welcomed the opportunity to accompany the Agriculture Minister Michelle O’Neill to meet the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Liz Truss, to outline the difficulties facing the Northern Ireland dairy industry.

At the meeting Mr Marshall again underlined the need for the UK government to press the European Commission to review the intervention price for dairy products.

“The meeting with Liz Truss was an opportunity for us to highlight the severity of the crisis in the dairy industry.

"It's important she fully understands the extent of the difficulties facing Northern Ireland dairy farmers, particularly as they find themselves in a unique situation in comparison to our GB counterparts”, said Mr Marshall.

“With farm gate prices well below the cost of production, and with no sign of recovery, we need the Secretary of State's commitment to ensuring the industry is supported through the crisis it is facing this autumn and winter.”

Over the coming weeks a series of meetings and events have been planned at a local, UK and European level. These include the UFU taking part in a wider agriculture industry meeting with all the UK agriculture ministers. This is expected to take place next week and has been arranged to highlight the seriousness of the situation across the agriculture industry. Topping the agenda will be how best to address the major cash flow and profitability issues facing all farmers.

“It's important to remember that while the dairy sector has grabbed the headlines in recent weeks, what we are in fact facing is a crisis across the entire farming industry and across all enterprises,” he said.